Instead, he placed owner Ruth Cisero in a program that will erase a reckless endangerment charge if she completes two years probation and 50 hours of community service.

Under the terms of that probation, Lewis must abide by a previous restraining order that prevents him from leaving Cisero's Fairfield home. If he does, the charge against Cisero will be reinstated. She could face up to six months in prison, and Lewis could again face death.

"There are no exceptions," Carroll warned. "None."

Cisero turned down an offer of probation if she agreed to euthanize Lewis. She also declined an offer from prosecutors to drop the charges if she had the cat declawed. She said Tuesday that Lewis will have to live with staying indoors.

"We'll do our best to make him happy," she said. "I guess ultimately he will be alive. So like everybody in life, you make adjustments."

Cisero was charged with reckless endangerment after neighbors complained that Lewis' long claws and stealth have allowed him to attack at least a half-dozen people and ambush the Avon lady as she was getting out of her car. Neighbor Janet Kettman, who has twice been attacked by Lewis, said Tuesday she thinks he will escape from home confinement.

"A cat, being a cat, is very hard to contain," she said. "I would have loved to have seen Ruth take advantage of that offer for him to go out to Utah and become a Mormon kitty."

The Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab, Utah, had offered to take Lewis free of charge. The cat sanctuary can accommodate about 600 cats in climate-controlled bungalows and has specialists who know how to handle cats with behavior problems.

The group's attorney, Russ Mead, flew to Connecticut and was in court Tuesday prepared to seek custody if the judge decided Lewis was too dangerous to live in Connecticut.

Rosemarie Gravas, a cat lover in her 80s from Melbourne Beach, Fla., took time from her New England vacation to watch the court proceedings. She said she became concerned after reading about Lewis, who was featured in People magazine and has his own page on Myspace.com.

She stood for several hours along with others who could not find seats in the packed courtroom.

"Ruth should not be separated from that cat, because we are bonded to our animals, she said.

Prosecutor Charles Stango lamented all the attention Lewis was receiving. He said few members of the media showed up in the same court the day before, when an 18-year-old man faced charges he stabbed a 17-year-old to death.